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Anand Agricultural University, Anand
Anand Agricultural University (AAU) was established in 2004 at Anand with the support of the Government of Gujarat, Act No.(Guj 5 of 2004) dated April 29, 2004. Caved out of the erstwhile Gujarat Agricultural University (GAU), the dream institution of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and Dr. K. M. Munshi, the AAU was set up to provide support to the farming community in three facets namely education, research and extension activities in Agriculture, Horticulture Engineering, product Processing and Home Science. At present there seven Colleges, seventeen Research Centers and six Extension Education Institute working in nine districts of Gujarat namely Ahmedabad, Anand, Dahod, Kheda, Panchmahal, Vadodara, Mahisagar, Botad and Chhotaudepur
AAU's activities have expanded to span newer commodity sectors such as soil health card, bio-diesel, medicinal plants apart from the mandatory ones like rice, maize, tobacco, vegetable crops, fruit crops, forage crops, animal breeding, nutrition and dairy products etc. the core of AAU's operating philosophy however, continues to create the partnership between the rural people and committed academic as the basic for sustainable rural development. In pursuing its various programmes AAU's overall mission is to promote sustainable growth and economic independence in rural society. AAU aims to do this through education, research and extension education. Thus, AAU works towards the empowerment of the farmers.
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ThesisItem Open Access STUDIES ON VARIABILITY, HERITABILITY, GENETIC ADVANCE, CORRELATION AND PATH COEFFICIENT ANALYSIS IN GRAM (Cicer arietinum L.)(1998) Viswanathan, Aparna; Shukla, P. T.Seed yield is the most economical trait in chickpea, which is a manifestation of many yield contributing characters of the plant. In a breeding programme for improvement of yield, knowledge about variability, type and extent of correlation between yield and other traits can help in selecting the desirable genotypes. Therefore, the present investigation was undertaken to estimate variability, genetical parameters, genotypic and phenotypic correlation as well as direct and indirect effects of different characters on seed yield in chickpea. The experiment was conducted in Randomized block design with three replications at the Agronomy Farm of B.A. College of Agriculture, Gujarat Agricultural University, Anand Campus, Anand during 1996-97. The experimental material comprised of 40 genotypes including checks. Observations were recorded on plant height, plant spread, number of primary branches/plant, number of secondary branches/plant, internode length, number of leaves, number of stipules, petiole length, number of leaflets, size of leaflets, girth of stem, root length, root girth, number of pods/plant, size of pod, number of seeds/pod, 100 seed weight and seed yield/plant. The study revealed that significant genotypic differences existed for all the characters. The variability study showed that the material possessed large magnitude of variation for most of the characters. The genotypic coefficient of variation was high for 100 seed weight, seed yield/plant and size of pod, whereas, for remaining characters it was moderate to low. Broad sense heritability was high for number of seeds/pod, 100 seed weight, size of pod, number of pods/plant and seed yield/plant while moderate to low heritability estimates were recorded for the rest of the characters. High genetic advance was exhibited by 100 seed weight, size of pod, seed yield/plant, number of pods/plant and number of seeds/pod. For remaining characters the genetic advance ranged from low to moderate. Heritability alongwith genetic advance impart better approach for effective selection. Variability study indicated that selection could be effective for number of pods/plant, 100 seed weight, size of pod and number of seeds/pod. In general the genotypic correlation were higher than their corresponding phenotypic correlation. Study of correlation revealed that selection made on the basis of more number of seeds/pod, more seed weight as well as smaller root length would be helpful for increasing the seed yield. Path analysis indicated that in selection programme aiming to improve seed yield in chickpea more weightage should be given to number of pods/plant, number of seeds/pod and 100 seed weight.ThesisItem Open Access SEROPREVALENCE AND DIAGNOSIS OF BLUETONGUE VIRUS BY REVERSE TRANSCRIPTASE POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION(AAU, Anand, 1998) Hinsu, T. V.; Kher, H. N.Bluetongue (BT) is an insect transmitted viral disease of several species of domestic and wild ruminants. The disease is a cause for serious concern to livestock industry due to staggering direct and indirect economic losses. In many countries like India having considerable sheep population, the disease has become endemic. Severity of the infection depends upon the species and breed of animals, serotypes/strains of the virus and prevalent ecosystem. The present study was aimed to find out prevalence of Bluetongue virus (BTV) antibodies in domestic ruminants and of Epizootic haemorrhagic disease virus (EHDV) antibodies in cattle of Kutch district of Gujarat state. Agar gel immunodiffusion (AGIO) and competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (c-ELISA) employed for antibody detection were also compared in terms of their sensitivity and specificity. An attempt was also made to standardize Reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) for detecting BTV nucleic acid. Out of 162 sera tested, 87 (53.70%) and 126 (77.78%) were found to be positive for BTV antibodies by AGID and c-ELISA respectively. Specieswise, 24.56 and 63.16% of sheep, 80.00 and 96.36% of goats and 58.00 and 74.00% of cattle revealed antibodies to BTV by AGIO and c-ELISA respectively. The highest prevalence rate was found in Northern-east region (70.69 and 86.21%), followed by Central (48.72 and 75.64%) and Southern-west region (30.77 and 65.38%) of the Kutch district, respectively by AGID and c-ELISA. Female animals (63.03 and 86.81%) showed more prevalence than male animals (36.63 and 66.20%), as determined by AGID and c-ELISA respectively. In sheep, higher prevalence rate in native Patanwadi breed (47.06 and 86.16%) was observed than the crossbreds (11.76 and 43.48%) by AGID and c-ELISA respectively. A total of 50 cattle sera tested for BTV antibodies were also tested for EHDV antibodies by EHDV-AGID test. Of these, 9 (18.00%) were found positive for EHDV antibodies. Amongst these positive sera, five reacted specifically to EHDV antigen, without crossreacting to BTV antigen. Comparison of c-ELISA and AGID tests for the detection of BTV antibodies, revealed that the former test was better in terms of sensitivity and specificity. Of the total 162 serum samples, 87 and 126 samples reacted positively in AGIO and c-ELISA respectively. Eighty six samples were found positive and 35 negative by both the tests; while 40 samples detected positive by c-ELISA were negative by AGIO. Only one sample reacted positively to AGIO but negative in c-ELISA. This sample turned out to be positive for EHDV antibodies. Relative sensitivity and specificity of AGIO to c-ELISA were 68.25 and 97.22% respectively and overall agreement between both the tests was 74.69%. RT-PCR was employed for detecting BTV nucleic acid using BTV groupspecific segment 7 prime and BHK-21 cells adopted BTV serotype 1. This was attempted essentially to standardize this highly sensitive technique, so as to use it routinely in future for the field samples. The study revealed an amplified product of 500 bp specific to the primer used in the study.ThesisItem Open Access PARASITIC FAUNA OF WILD ANIMALS IN GUJARAT STATE(AAU, Anand, 1998) Patel, Premdas Vinodbhai; PATEL, A. I.Research work was carried out for twelve months from February, 1997 to January, 1998 to have an insight into the parasitic fauna of wild carnivores and herbivores. Wild animals which are kept in captivity in different zoo as well as those which are free living in the forest/sancturies/ safari parks were examined for the parasitic infection. Faecal samples collected regularly from captive wild animals and occasionally from free living wild animals were examined by qualitative as well as quantitative methods. In felines, the prevalence of parasitic infection in free living animals was higher than the captive animals. However, species of the parasites remained similar in both the groups. The prevalent species were observed as Toxascaris leonina. Toxocara. Ancylostoma. Trichuris. Capillaria aerophila. Paragonimus. Spirpmetya, Taenia, Dipylidium caninum. Isospora and larvae of Filaroides. The prevalence of parasitic infection in lion and tiger has significant difference between the months of the year. In tiger, parasitic infection was significantly higher in winter than summer and monsoon. The prevalence of ascarids was nonsignificantly higher (39.06 %) in lion followed by tiger (34.62 %) and leopard (17.08 % ) . The intensity of ascarids (Toxascaris leonina and Toxocara spp.) was significantly higher in cub than the adult lion, while that of of Ancylostoma spp. was significantly higher in females than the cubs. The intensity of helminths in captive lion was significantly higher during monsoon followed by winter and summer. The prevalence of Spirometra spp. was nonsignificantly higher (30.42 %) in leopard than the lion (5.58 % ) . The mean egg count of Spirometra spp. in male and ascarids in female leopard was significantly higher in monsoon and winter, respectively. The prevalence of Ancylostoma spp. was nonsignificantly higher (13.46 %) in tiger followed by leopard (7.92 %) and lion (6.94 % ) . Mean egg count of Ancylostoma spp. in female tiger was significantly higher in winter than other seasons. The mean egg count of Toxascaris leonina and Toxocara spp. was significantly higher in winter and monsoon, respectively. Infection of ascarids was significantly higher in male than the female tiger. Prevalence and intensity of helminth infection were higher in free living felines than the captive felines. The prevalence of Trichuris spp. was higher (15.00 %) in jackal than wolf and fox, while Ancvlostoraa spp. was higher (37.50 %) in fox than jackal and wolf. The wolf had higher infection of ascarids (27.08 % ) , Taenia spp. (12.50 %) and Dipylidium caninum (8.33 %) than other canines. In hyaena, the highest infection'was observed for Ancylostoma spp. (33.33 % ) . In felines as well as canines, mixed infection with two or three species of parasites was the most common. The prevalence of parasitic infection in free living herbivores was higher than the captive herbivores. The prevalent species were recorded as trichostrongyles, Trichuris. amphistomes, Fasciola. Strongyloides and Eimeria. The intensity of Trichuris spp. was higher than the trichostrongyles. There was low grade infection of amphistomes, Fasciola and Strongyloides species. When the prevalence of infection due to ascarids, Ancylostoma spp., Spirometra spp. or mixed infection of these parasites were higher (100.00 %) in lion, there were significantVy decrease in AKP (7.96 ± 0.77 U/L), total serum protein (6.14 ±0.22 G/dl), albumin (2.55 ± 0.17 G/dl), calcium (6.41 + 0.19 mg % ) , phosphorus (4.38 ± 0.06 mg % ) , magnesium (1.10 ± 0.03 mg % ) , Hb (9.86 ± 0.31 gm % ) , RBCs (4.66 ± 0.22 X 106/cumm), PCV (29.92 + 0.93 %) and lymphocytic count (18.67 ± 1.15 % ) . But, significant increase were observed in the values of BUN (56.50 ± 1.55 mg/dl), SGPT (25.04 ± 0.41 U/L, SGOT (42.71 ± 0.93 U/L), WBC (19354.17 ± 389.02/cumra) as eosinophils (5.79 ± 0.35 % ) . As there was reduction in percentage prevalence (37.00 %) and intensity of these infections due to anthelmintic treatment, all the biochemical and haematological parameters tended towards physiological values. Internal parasites recorded during post-mortem examination of lion, leopard and tiger were identified as Toxascaris leonina. Toxocara cati. Ancylostoma spp., Gnathostoma spp., Capjllaria aerophila. Spirometra erinaceieuropaei. Taenia pisiformis. Dipylidium caninum. larval stages of Filaroides spp. and Mesocestoides lineatus. while external parasites were identified as Ctenocephalides felis. Ctenocephalides canis. Rhipicephalus spp. Linognathus spp. and Trichodectus spp. The larval stages of flies were Chrysomyia bezziana and Musca species. Histopathological section of intestinal nodules revealed the presence of parasites surrounded by heavy infiltration of leucocytes, eosinophils and macrophages. There was fibrosis and necrotic lesions around the parasites with severe destruction of mucosa and submucosa. Section of skin with attached tick revealed severe destruction of dermis and epidermis. Experimental infection of ascarids in mice revealed congestion and haemorrhages with infiltration of eosinophils and mononuclear cells in the liver, lung, spleen, brain and muscles. The histochemical changes in liver, lung and muscles revealed moderate to intense reaction with PAS staining, indicating the presence of good to moderate amount of mucopolysaccharide in these organs. Albendazole, mebendazole and fenbendazole were found to have good effect against ascarids and Ancylostoroa spp. infection in lion, leopard and tiger, while they were at not at all effective against the infection of Spirometra species.ThesisItem Open Access BIONOMICS AND PREDATORY POTENTIAL OF Menochilus sexmaculatus Fabricius (Coccinellidae : Coleoptera) AND Chrysoperal carnea Stephens (Chrysopidae : Neuroptera) REARED ON MAIZE APHID (Rhopalosiphum maidis Fitch.) ALONGWITH THEIR COMPARATIVE SUSCEPTIBILITY TO SOME NEEM BASED PESTICIDES(AAU, Anand, 1998) Patel, Dilip P.; Vyas, H. N.Studies on bionomics and predatory potential of Menochilus sexmaculatus Fabricius and Chrysoperla carnea Stephens, reared on maize aphid (Rhopalosiphum maidis Fitch.) alongwith their comparative susceptibility to some neem based pesticides were carried out at Entomology laboratory, B.T.R.S., Gujarat Agricultural University, Anand during 1997-98. The length and breadth of eggs of M. sexmaculatus were on an average 1.035 and 0.396 ram, respectively. The average incubation period of egg was 1.57 day when reared on R. maidis F. The average length and breadth of eggs of C. carnea were 0.815 and 0.375 mm, respectively, with an average foot stalk length of 3.937 mm. The incubation period of egg was on an average 3.97 days when reared on R. maidis. The larva of M. sexmaculatus passed through four distinct instars and each instar lasted for 1.64, 1.35, 1.52 and 2.39 days, respectively. The total larval duration of M. sexmaculatus was on an average 6.91 days, when reared on R. maidis. Whereas, the larva of C. carnea passed through three distinct instars and each instar lasted for 5.10, 3.24 and 3.84 days, respectively. The total larval duration of C. carnea was on an average 12.28 days when reared on R. maidis. The average pre-pupal and pupal periods of M. sexmaculatus were observed as 15.78 hrs. and 3.30 days, respectively when reared on R. maidis. Whereas, the average pre-pupal and pupal periods of C. carnea were observed as 6.87 hrs. and 7.92 days, respectively when reared on R. maidis. Average pre-oviposition, oviposit ion and post-oviposit ion periods of M. sexmaculatus were 2.85, 14.92 and 2.46 days, respectively. INhereas, average pre-oviposition, oviposition and post-oviposition periods of C. carnea were 5.08, 12.38 and 10.08 days, respectively when fed on same aphid species. Longevity of male and female beetles of M. sexmaculatus with food was 16.00 and 20.38 days, respectively whereas without food, it was 2.80 and 3.60 days, respectively. The average entire life span of male and female of M. sexmaculatus was 2770 and 32.8 days, respectively with ratio of 1:1.30 when fed on R. maidis under laboratory conditions. Similarly, longevity of male and female adults of C. carnea was 17.00 and 27.54 days, respectively, while without food it was 2.40 and 2.80 days, respectively. The average entire life span of male and femle of C. camea was 42.66 and 53.00 days, respectively with the ratio of 1:1.14 when fed on same aphid species under laboratory conditions. The predatory potential of first, second, third and fourth instar larvae of M. sexmaculatus on maize aphid (R. maidis) wets on an average of 8.26, 15.10, 20.77 and 23.50 aphids per day, respectively, while average number of maize aphid consumed by M. sexmaculatus during entire larval and adult period was 122.60 and 412.39 aphids, respectively. Whereas, the predatory potential of first, second and third instar larvae of C. carnea to the maize aphid was on an average 5.07, 16.31 and 41.27 aphids per day, respectively with an average 236.43 aphids during total larval instars. Studies on toxicity of some neem based pesticides in comparison with simthetic insecticides to immature stages of M. sexmaculatus and C. carnea revealed that all tested neem based pesticides were less toxic than Monocrotophos (0.036 per cent) and Endosulfan (0.07 per cent) to eggs and larvae of M. sexmaculatus and C. carnea. Among the neem based pesticides Parasmani (0.4 per cent) and Gronim (1500 ppm) were found to be highly toxic than other neem based pesticides to eggs and larvae of M. sexmaculatus and C. carnea. Whereas, NSKS (5 per cent), Neembicidine (0.4 per cent) and Amrutguard (0.5 per cent) were observed less toxic to eggs and larvae of M. sexmaculatus and C. carnea.ThesisItem Open Access CROP-PEST-WEATHER INTERACTION AND POPULATION DYNAMICS OF (Heliothis armigera (Hubner) IN TWO DIVERSE PIGEONPEA (Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp.) GENOTYPES (BDN-2 and GT-100) AT ANAND(AAU, Anand, 1998) Chaudhari, G. B.; Shekh, A. M.The results obtained in this investigation revealed that the air temperature and photoperiod had profound influence on growth and development of the pigeonpea crop. The variation in air temperatures during different phenophases resulted in differential attainment of physiological maturity in both the genotypes. Whereas, the differential availability of bright hours of sunshine (BSS) during reproductive phase resulted in higher seed yield. Low vapour pressure (VP) and relative humidity (RH) during flower bud initiation to podding phase, were favourable for higher seed yield. The seed yield and other yield attributing characters of pigeonpea crop were significantly influenced by the different treatments. The seed yield of protected condition was observed 36% higher than that under unprotected condition. The short duration genotype, GT-100 was found significantly higher in seedyield than the long duration genotype BbN-2. The seed yield was found to decrease upto 35%, with delayed sowing till 40 days after the onset of monsoon. Significant differences in total biomass were noticed in treatments like irrigation, genotypes and dates of sowing The results from correlation study revealed that there was a positive significant association between seed yield and different weather parameters like, maximum and minimum temperatures, bright hours of sunshine and different thermal indices like, growing degree days, phototherraal units and Heliothermal units and accumulated PAR. It has been observed that there was a difference in growing degree days requirement for the two genotypes to attain different phenological phases. To attain physiological maturity the GDD requirement for BDN-2 was 3105°Cd and it was 2894°Cd for GT-100 genotypeThesisItem Open Access BIO-ECOLOGY AND BEHAVIOUR OF VARIOUS SPECIES OF APHID AND THEIR NATURAL ENEMIES(AAU, Anand, 1998) Patel, Dipakkumar M.; Patel, J. R.Studies were carried out on population dynamics of various species of aphid viz., Aphis craccivora Koch., Aphis gossypii Glover, Lipaphis erysimi Kaltenbach and Uroleucon compoaitae Theobald and their natural enemies, reproductive behaviour of Menochilus aexmaculatus Fab. and Xanthogramma scutellare Fab. fed with Lipaphis erysimi Kalt. and Aphis craccivora Koch. reared on their respective host plants, toxicity of botanicals, synthetic and ready-mix insecticides against Diaeretiella rapae M'Intosh, a parasitoid of Lipaphis erysimi Kalt., effect of temperature on emergence of aphid parasitoids, reproductive behaviour of Lipaphis erysimi Kalt., on its host crops and bio-efficacy of various plant materials against Aphis craccivora Koch, during 1995-96 to 1996-97. The activity of A. craccivora was more severe and for longer period on Wal (Indian bean)-125-36 than cowpea 82-lB and groundnut J-11 during kharif and showed negative correlationship with maximum temperature on indian bean. The coccinellids (Menochilus aexmaculatus and Coccinella septempunctata) and syrphids (Xanthogramma scutellare and Paragus serratua) were found as major predators of A, craccivora. The activity of A. gossypii was found more severe on cotton H-6 than bhendi Parbhani Kranti and brinjal Morbi Bhada, The activity of M. sexmaculatua and Chryaopa carnea was found on cotton aphid, whereas M. sexmaculatua was found as a major predator of A. gossypii on bhendi and brinjal. The activity of A. gossypii was negatively influenced by mean temperature on cotton and brinjal and morning relative humidity on bhendi. The activity of L. erysimi was found after three weeks of transplanting of cabbage Sutton Express and cauliflower Pusa Vaishakhi seedlings, whereas activity of predators, M. sexmaculatua, C. septempunctata, X. scutellare and P. serratua and parasitoid, Diaeretiella rapae was observed within two to four and three weeks of aphid incidence respectively. The sunshine hours and range of temperature showed negative and positive influence on activity of L. erysimi on cabbage and cauliflower respectively, while morning vapour pressure and minimum temperature had positive influence on parasitization of L. erysimi on cabbage and cauliflower respectively. The higher population build up of L. erysimi was observed on radish Pusa deshi and late sown mustard Varuna than early sown mustard Varuna. The activity of both the lady birdbeetles (M. sexmaculatus, C. septempunctata and unknown species) and syrphids (X. scutellare and P. serratus) was observed on radish and late sown mustard, whereas only syrphids were found on early sown mustard. The range of temperature showed positive influence on L. erysimi activity on radish and early and late sown mustard. D. rapae was found as a major parasitoid of L. erysimi on late sown mustard and its activity positively correlated with minimum temperature. The activity U. compositae was observed on six weeks old safflower Bhima crop, whereas its predators C. septempunctata, Brumus suturalis, X. scutellare and P. serratus appeared after three weeks of its incidence. Windspeed had negative influence on activity of U. compositae on safflower.ThesisItem Open Access EFFECT OF ENZYME SUPPLEMENTATION ON UTILIZATION OF PROSOPIS JULIFLORA PODS BY BROILERS(AAU, Anand, 1998) Patel, Krushnarvind B.; Desai, M. C.The effect of addition of enzyme on efficiency of Prosopis juliflora pods based feed utilization by'broilers, was planned using 400 unsexed 'Hubbard commercial chicks from day old to six weeks of age. The five treatments were T1 (diet without Prosnpis juliflora pods but with enzymes), T2 (diet having 5% Prosopis juliflora pods with enzyme), T3 (diet having 10% Prosopis juliflora pods with enzyme), T4 (diet having 10% Prosopis juliflora pods without enzyme) and T5 (control diet without enzyme). Completely randomized design was followed. The nutrient requirements were met as per the recommendations of BIS (1992a,b) feeding standards. The feeds were supplemented with coccidiostats and vitamins and birds were vaccinated as per schedule. Five rations were fed from 0-4 weeks in cages and 5-6 weeks of age on deep litter. The average initial weight of the broiler chicks were 50.41 + 0.09, 50.38 ± 0.05, 50.05 ± 0.02, 50.30 ± 0.18 and 50. 1 ± 0.08 g followed by 1783.82 ± 42.89, 1708.26 ± 25.47, 1624.96 ± 33.72, 1586.10 ± 46.67 and 1664.82.22.30 g average total weight at the end of experiment and average weight gain was 1733.40 + 38.30, 1657.91 ± 25.49, 1574.91 + 33.71, 1535.80 + 46.32 and 1614.70 + 22.37, respectively under T1, T2, T3, T4 and T5 treatment groups. The treatment group differed significantly (P<0.05) where the gain in body weight was highest in T1, followed by.T2, T5, T3 and the least in T4 group. Non-significant average feed consumption for 0-4 weeks (1463.53 ± 14.46 - 1521.93 ± 12.49 g/bird) and for 5 to 6 weeks (1798.93 ± 32.96 - 1909.13 ± 37.15 g/bird) suggested that Prosopis juliflora pods at 10% level is quite palatable to broilers during starter as well as finisher phase of growth. The numerical reduction in feed consumption was observed with enzyme addition which might be due to improved utilization of Prosopis juliflora pods by enzyme and on account of more energy available to the birds.ThesisItem Open Access MANAGEMENT OF HELICOVERPA ARMIGERA ARMIGE (HUBNER) INFESTING ANDROGRAPHIS PANICULATA NEES. THROUGH NON-CHEMICAL METHODS IN MIDDLE GUJARAT CONDITIONS(AAU, Anand, 1998) Jadav, Hiteshkumar Rameshbhai; Mehta, D. M.Investigation on management of H. armigera armigera infesting A. paniculata through non-chemical methods in Middle Gujarat conditions were carried out during 1997-98 at Medicinal and Aromatic Plants Farm, Gujarat Agricultural University, Anand. The studies on survey of H. armigera armigera infesting A. paniculata revealed that ovi positional and larval activity was observed from 3 week of October to 4 week of December. No significant correlation was found between ovipositional and larval activity with any oi tliu weather paraiiicleiti. The activity of a larval parasite Carcelia sp. [Tachinidae : Diptera] was found from 2nd week of November to 3rd week of December ranging from 2.83 to 9.3%. The maximum per cent parasitism (9.3%) was observed during 1 week of December. The studies on effect of bio-pesticides against H. armigera armigera infesting A. paniculata revealed that amongst the various treatments, HaNPV @ 1.5 X 1012 POB/h (250 LE/h) gave effective protection to A. paniculuta by preventing the larval activity of H. armigera armigera and gave considerably higher yield of foliage along with the pods.ThesisItem Open Access POPULATION DYNAMICS AND CONTROL OF EARIAS VITTELLA FABRICIUS (LEPIDOPTERA : NOCTUIDAE) ON COTTON AND BHENDI(AAU, Anand, 1998) Zala, Sahadevsinh P.; PATEL, J. R.Studies were carried out on population dynamics of spotted bollworms, Earias vittella Fab. and it's natural enemies on cotton H-6 and bhendi Parbhani Kranti, behaviour of E. vittella moth by using sex pheromone trap, bioefficacy of botanical and synthetic insecticides against E. vittella and comparative toxicity of recommended synthetic insecticides for E. vittella to it's larval parasite Rogas aliearhensis during 1996-97 to 1997- 98. The activity of E. vittella was started on cotton H-6 from five weeks age of the crop and continued till at the age of twenty thee weeks of crop when crop was removed. In kharif and summer bhendl it's activity was started from three and four weeks age of the crop and remained till fifteen and fourteen weeks age respectively when crop was removed. Summer bhendi had higher activity of E« vittella than kharif bhendi. The oviposition behaviour of E. vittella infesting cotton showed positive relationship with maximum temperature and negative relationship with windspeed and relative humidity (morning, evening and mean), whereas larval activity had positive and negative relationship with range of temperature and rainfall as well as evening relative humidity respectively. Lin kharif bhendi, bright sunshine hours and temperature (maximum and mean) showed positive influence on larval activity, whereas mean vapour pressure and relative humidity (morning, evening and mean) showed negative effect. Maximum and mean temperature showed positive influence on E. vittella activity in summer bhendi The larval parasite R. aligarhensis and larval pupal parasite Agathia spp. were found as major parasites of E. vittella infesting cotton and kharif bhendi respectively, whereas E. vittella larvae infesting summer bhendi were found parasitized by E. aligarhensis. Agathis spp. and Chelonus spp. The range of temperature showed positive influence, whereas windspeed, vapour pressure (morning, evening and mean) and relative humidity had negative influence on the activity of R. aligarhensis in cotton, whereas rainfall showed positive influence on activity of parasites in summer bhendi.